HOLMFIRTH textile artist Dionne Swift, known in the art world for her work in devoré, has an exhibition, New Grounds, which showcases, as the name suggests, a change of artistic direction.

The exhibition at the Bankfield Museum, Halifax, features felted ‘pictures’ and cotton organdie wall hangings in muted neutral colours.

“I made a lot of scarves and then moved into wall pieces and pictures,” said Dionne. “It’s always been about art rather than fashion, it just happened that I made scarves that could be worn.’’

“But there’s more to me than that and I got to the point where I wanted another challenge so I applied for an Arts Council grant to support the redevelopment of my work, so I could step back,’’ she added.

Dionne used the grant to learn new skills and techniques at textile workshops. “I went to the Edinburgh Print Makers world-famous studio in Edinburgh and learned how to create collagraphs, which involves using collage pieces to make a printing plate,’’ she said.

“I also went to the West Yorkshire printing workshop in Mirfield to learn how to etch.’’

The results of her labours are a series of printed, stitched and appliqued works.

They have a repetitive theme. “I found my hands going into autopilot after a while, which means your brain starts to move into other areas and think creatively,’’ said Dionne.

“A lot of the work is about how people look at things and how each of us sees things differently. I’m using the filaments in the wall hangings as a visual, tactile metaphor because they all curl in a slightly different way.’’

Dionne, who trained at Goldsmiths College in London, has worked as an artist ever since graduating and began making her devoré scarves when expecting her first child Callum. She has managed to combine motherhood – her two children are now 12 and 14 – with work and says she is “miserable’’ if she can’t be creative.

“I have been able to spend a fair bit of time at home with my children but I have always had a studio away from home and treated my work as a job.’’ she added.

Dionne has worked as a part-time lecturer in print and textile crafts at Huddersfield University and works from a studio in Back Union Street, Huddersfield.